Pines of Rome Press Release

Lincoln’s Symphony Orchestra Presents

“Pines of Rome”

(LINCOLN, Neb. – April 24, 2019) Lincoln’s Symphony Orchestra returns to the Lied Center for Performing Arts for their Classical series performance, Pines of Rome, on Sunday, May 5th at 6:00 p.m.

Led by Music Director Edward Polochick, the program will open with Prairie Songs: Remembering Ántonia by Brent Edstrom, a work commissioned by The Cather Project at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Originally a chamber work written for tenor, violin, and piano, LSO’s concert marks the world premiere of its full orchestration. Joining the LSO as solo tenor will be Scott David Miller, and concertmaster Anton Miller will also be featured prominently.

“LSO is thrilled to collaborate with The Cather Project to celebrate 100 years since the publication of Willa Cather’s great masterpiece, My Ántonia,” says LSO Executive Director Barbara Zach. “The music by Brent Edstrom creates a prism through which we can newly enjoy the beauty and poetry of this celebrated Nebraska author.”

LSO and Music Director Edward Polochick are deeply grateful to The Cather Project at UNL for their commitment to her work, and for supporting the commissioning of this new piece. ‘‘Prairie Songs is a testament to the enduring power of Cather’s fiction, and a vivid illustration of the significance of music in her work,’ notes Guy Reynolds, UNL Professor and Director of the Cather Project.

Polochick is excited for Nebraska audiences to experience Willa Cather in a new way. “What Edstrom has created is very special,” Polochick says. “The way he musically characterizes each vignette is exceptional. This work has so many wonderful contrasts in moods and atmospheres, and evokes the feelings of the prairie, of love, of loss, and all the images that Cather presents so eloquently.”

After intermission, the orchestra will play Respighi’s Pines of Rome, a piece composed in 1924 which Willa Cather heard in 1927 at Carnegie Hall with Serge Koussevitsky conducting the Boston Symphony.

“This piece is truly one of Respighi’s crowning achievements. He creates an aural picture, an atmosphere of those magnificent trees, that really draws the listener in,” says Polochick. “A tone painting in four movements, Pines of Rome is a monument of the Classical literature; experiencing it live is a magnificent experience. What an exciting way to close out our season!”

Tickets for the concert are available for purchase online at www.lincolnsymphony.com, by phone at (402) 476‑2211, or by visiting Lincoln’s Symphony Orchestra’s box office (233 S. 13th St., Ste. 1702).

NET Radio’s Genevieve Randall will host a pre-concert chat at 5:15 p.m. the evening of the concert in the Steinhart Room with Maestro Polochick. LSO’s pre-concert chats are supported in part by Humanities Nebraska and Mattson Ricketts.

To stay current with symphony events, follow Lincoln’s Symphony Orchestra on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter – and don’t forget to use #LSOlove while visiting the free JamesAnn Photography photobooth during intermission.

In an effort to make all LSO concerts financially accessible, LSO’s tickets are available for only $15 or $35 each for adults, inclusive of all ticketing and facility fees. Tickets for youth ages 17 and under are available for $5 each, made possible by the Lienemann Charitable Foundation.

Lincoln’s Symphony Orchestra’s 2018-2019 season sponsors are Immanuel Communities and Union Bank & Trust. The concert sponsor for “Pines of Rome” is Assurity with media support by the Lincoln Journal Star. The Nebraska Arts Council and the Nebraska Cultural Endowment also provided generous support toward Lincoln’s Symphony Orchestra’s 2018-2019 season.

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